Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Legacy of Death Conclusion Chapter 8 Bat out of Hell

Under normal circumstances Steele would have collected his fee and
called it a night, but the circumstances were far from normal. Questions
lingered in the mind of the curious detective.

Julia and Isabella had gone though enough. Steele didn’t want to
burden them with his theories so he
concocted a reason to stick around.

“Julia if you and your aunt don’t mind I better stay here with you two
until the bank opens on Monday morning.”

Julia shook her head and smiled. “Don’t be silly Mr. Steele. Everybody who
knows about the gold is dead, besides you
have done enough. We’ll be fine.”

“No,” Isabella held up her hand, you can never be too careful.” Steele
motioned to the couch.

“Then it’s settled, I can sleep right here.”

Julia and Isabella spent the evening and part of the night at the
kitchen table talking and making plans to
go on a Caribbean Cruise. It was 2:18 when they finally called it a night.
Steele turned off the lamp to settle in after arranging the bed sheets and
pillows on the couch in the living room. As he drifted off to sleep he began
second guessing himself. Maybe Julia was right; if my hunch was right… At that
very moment Steele heard movement coming from the dining room.

“What the hell?” Steele quietly picked up his gun from the end table and
clicked off the safety. Still sitting on
the sofa in the dark room Steele watched as the figure of a man holding a small
flashlight began searching the draws of the sideboard then the china closet.
Steele has seen enough.

With his gun drawn he approached the robber, “Freeze!”

Startled by the voice the burglar whirled around threw the flashlight at
Steel’s head then lunged at him. When the men crashed onto the coffee table
Steele nearly lost his grip on his gun. Shaken by the fall Steele rose to his
feet holding the gun down on the robber. Just as he was about to turn on the
lamp Julia and Isabella came barreling down the narrow staircase and before
Steele could react Isabella wacked him in the back with a wooden baseball bat.
Just as she was about to take another whack at Steele Julia turned on
the light. Realizing that Isabella had made
a mistake she grabbed the bat from her aunt and shouted “Stop!” Up until that
point the woman had not noticed who the man lying on the floor was. Julia was
stunned. Starring in disbelief as if she had seen a ghost. she dropped
the bat and slowly shook her head. “Greg.
It can’t be. I thought you were…..”

“Steele finished her sentence “dead” Holding his gun in one hand and
trying to massage his aching back with the other Steele winched as he explained
Greg’s miraculous resurrection.

“He had me fooled for a while too, at first.” Greg slowly sat up on the
floor next to where Julia dropped the bat.

“How could you have possibly known Steele? I was careful. I had
everything worked out.”

Steele shook his head, “no brother. You were careless. Too many things
just didn’t add up. I get why you showed up at the old barber shop a couple of
days ago. You figured it was your last shot at finding anything left behind by
Romone. You figured the construction guys would do the work for you. Tear out some of the walls then you could
barge in and find the gold. You knew that once the remodeling started you
wouldn’t have another chance. Then there was the dead body in your apartment,
must have been there what two maybe three days. You wanted it to be found but not by me. You
probably figured Julia had shown me your photo. It was you who called the cops
that night. Hoping they would get to me before I got a look at the poor bastard
you murdered to take your place. The police weren’t just in the
neighborhood; it was you who put them on
me.”

Greg scoffed as he rubbed his ribs.

“Lucky guess Steele but wrong, I didn’t off nobody. I planted a few of
the gold coins in my place before I invited that poor sap you found dead
in my apartment. I knew Cecil wanted the
gold almost as much as I did. I knew he was following me back home so I ducked
in the staircase. The door to my apartment was opened so he thought the dude
standing in the kitchen was me. If you knew it wasn’t me then why didn’t
you tell Julia?”

Steele waved his gun around, “I didn’t have any proof.

Your biggest mistake was trying to get rid of anything that could
identify you. The dead guy was in your apartment. He was about your height
weight and age so without any ID the police assumed it was you. The ash in the kitchen sink was from you burning
his Id and your picture.

Yeah, that’s right I saw the perfectly good picture frame in the trash.
Couldn’t have that lying around either could ya? That whole scene in
Laura’s Lounge with Julia’s Uncle Cecil was also staged. That’s the only thing I couldn’t figure out.”

Greg quickly picked up the baseball bat and got up. As he stood Steele
raised his weapon and pointed it at Greg’s chest. “Drop the bat. Trust
me, you don’t wanna test me. My back’s acing and that’s reason enough for me to shoot you already. I’m not in the
mood for filling out more police reports.”

Greg sneered at Steele before looking over at Julia. “Okay smart ass, I
was trying to lure Slick into my apartment. I knew he saw the gold coins
too. Since I ain’t got no friends I needed
a way to get somebody around my size into my apartment. I guess they don’t call
him Slick for nothing. I would have killed him but he never did show, it didn’t
matter. My luck had changed. I was
thinking about how to kill that guy in my place when I walked over to my window
and saw old Cecil going into Laura’s Lounge everything fell into place. It was
the perfect plan. Cecil wanted that gold. I needed everybody to think I
was dead. If I could get Cecil out the
way on a murder charge and fake my own death, then hey. Once you found the gold
on old Cecil no one would think twice about me since everybody thinks I’m dead.
That stash of gold you brought back from Canada is mine. I earned it
and I ain’t leaving here without it.
Ain’t no point in you lying. I followed you two to the airport parking lot. I
saw you get on a flight to Canada
then camped out in my car in the parking lot waiting for you guys to come back.

I know you got it.”

Steele shook his head, “yeah, I know. You did a piss poor job of tailing
me. So you let Cecil go to his grave thinking he murdered you.”

Julia had seen and heard enough. She had been duped and she was angry.
“You bastard,” she yelled. “I can’t believe I felt sorry for you. I
pitied you. That money belonged to my
parents and you won’t get a damn dime, you hear me.”

Steele briefly turned to Julia. Her words had thrown him into a fit of
rage. In the split second that Steele had turned away Greg raised the
bat and lunged at her. Pow, pow, without giving it a second though Steele pumped two rounds into Greg’s chest at point
blank range.

Julia screamed when she heard the shots. Greg staggered around a bit.
Crimson pools of blood quickly covered his blue shirt. He dropped the
bat and fell to the floor on his back.

Greg tried to speak but couldn’t get the words out. Julia fought back
the tears as she watched the life of man she once loved drain away but her aunt
was not so forgiving.

Isabella stood over Greg’s lifeless body and smiled. “Well at
least this time we know he’s dead.”

By morning Julia had managed to wash away years of her aunt’s guilt but
time would have to do the rest. Steele and Julia paid off the mob. As they sat
inside Rosa’s Rib Ranch she asked Steele, “Do
you think I will end up dead like the rest Mr. Steele?”

Steele chuckled; “the only man who could ruin Isabella’s life is dead.
You just paid off the mob, you and your aunt are about to take the cruise of
your life and you have enough money
to last till you are a hundred years old. I’d say the curse has been broken.”

Julia kept her end of the agreement and handed Steele a check for his
fee. As the two chatted Steele checked his watch and looked at the front door.
“Julia I have a surprise for you.” Steele’s girlfriend Shakia walked in and Steele introduced the two.

Steele explained that her mom and dad had gotten a bad rap. “For twenty
years your parent’s good names have been slandered, dragged through the mud.
It’s time for that to change.”

Shakia opened a sketch pad. “With your permission we would like to
reinforce the roof and build an observatory in your dads honor? Of course we
would build a six foot wall around the roof for safety and …….” before Shakia
could finish Julia leaped from her seat and hugged them both. Steele smiled at Shakia; “I’ll take
that as a yes.”

The End

Thank
you for reading the Alexander Steele Trilogy

Now enjoy this first
chapter preview of

Blackout

Chapter 1

Inconvenient Truths

Alexander Steele brushed away the snow clinging to the bronze plaque on
the wall outside his nightclub. The words Club Inner Sanctum were now visible
to those who passed by but hadn’t already heard of Philly’s most popular night
spot. It was ten in the morning, too early for his employees but not for his
good friend and club manager Sugar Bear who lived in one of the apartments
above the private club. “Welcome back boss,” Sugar Bear gave Steele a brief
hug. “How was Carnival?” “Too short,” joked Steele. “Here, I got you
something.” He tossed Sugar Bear an expensive looking wallet. “Thanks boss.” The
dark completed heavy set man examined the black leather wallet before gently
slipping it into his back pocket. Steele pointed to the last booth in the rear
of the club. “Would you bring my mail and that thing we talked about on the
phone back to my table?” Without waiting for an answer Steele poured himself a
cup of coffee, picked up his laptop from behind the bar and headed to the booth
that his friends joking referred to as his office. The unsuspecting detective
thought he would ease back into his routine of running his successful club.
Steele had no clue that what Sugar bear was about to bring him would lead him
on deadly manhunt.

The corner window at the back booth was small but it was Steele’s window
to the world. Steele was six feet tall; he wore a mustache and kept his hair
cut fairly close. His medium brown complexion had gotten a few shades darker
during his trip. Alexander Steele sipped his piping hot coffee as he watched
the snow flakes drifting down from the heavens. What a difference a day makes.’
He thought to himself, twenty four hours ago I was relaxing on a warm, white
sandy beach in Rio De Janeiro and now….. Steele’s thoughts were interrupted
when Sugar Bear brought a copy of The Philadelphia Daily News. He dropped the
paper on the desk and handed his employer a large stack of mail addressed to
Club Inner Sanctum attention Mr. Alexander Steele. Steele looked up at Sugar
Bear and slowly shook his head. “Why do I do it man? I mean, why do I keep coming
back to this town to freeze my ass off every single winter?” Sugar Bear had
heard it all before. He looked at Steele and laughed. “Come on man, you love
this city and besides you love Shakia and Shakia loves her mom too much to
leave her here alone. End of discussion.” Sugar Bear reached inside his pants
pocket, “Oh here’s that thing your cousin Johnny brought over from one of his
boys at the teen center in South Philly.” Steele examined the small grey piece
of plastic. “It’s a memory stick, you plug it into the computer,” Sugar Bear
explained.

Steele seemed slightly irritated, “I know what it is, what I don’t know
is how the kid got it, and why Johnny left it for me?” Sugar Bear pointed to
the telephone on the wall. “Dude, I swear you’re getting senile. I told you on
the phone. There was a scuffle on the subway. Two guys jacked this foreign
guy’s I-pod. When the train doors opened they ran and he dropped this when he
chased after them.” Steele waved him off. “Yeah, yeah now I remember. It’s
encrypted.”

Steele spent the better part of an hour trying to open the files on the
travel drive. When Sugar Bear returned with more coffee he could see Steele was
running out of patience. Steele flung the object on the desk. “I’m a detective
not a computer programmer. Why did he give this to me?” Sugar Bear slid into
the seat on the opposite side of the booth. “Ex-detective boss, you’re retired,
remember?” Steele waved his hand, “Whatever, I’m calling Stan. I bet he’ll have
this thing open in five minutes.”

Steele spent the rest of the morning opening mail most of which
consisted of checks for members dues to the club and reading the paper. The
headlines read, Canadian Officials Baffled by Blackout. It would not be long
before Steele whishes that he had taken the time to read the entire article. The
jetlag from his trip had begun dragging Steele down. It became more and more
difficult for him to concentrate. “Sugar Bear! Yo! Sugar Bear! I’ll be back
around five.” “Okay!” yelled the husky voice from the front of the club.

Shakia was Steele’s lady love; she was as smart as she was beautiful. The
34 year old interior decorator looked twenty four at the most. Steele hooked up
with her at her apartment for an early lunch. “Hi, baby.” She gave him a warm
hug and a kiss. “You hungry baby?” she asked as she turned slightly and pointed
over her shoulder to the kitchen. Without waiting for an answer Shakia strutted
back to the kitchen in faded blue jeans so tight that Steele found himself
wondering how she got into them. Shakia dashed from the kitchen to the hall
closet. “Oh, I forgot all about this last night. I brought you something, a
gift.” She smiled proudly as she handed Steele a small box containing the one
thing that he had managed to avoid up until now. A cell phone, or as Steele
called it the electronic leash. His feeble attempt to fake his appreciation
fell woefully short and Shakia’s beautiful smile quickly turned into a look of
disappointment. Her bright cheerful tone had also vanished.

You can cut the act Alex. I can see you don’t want it.” “No, no baby
it’s just that…” Shakia put her hands on her hips. “What?” Steele chose his
words carefully. “Well, you know I have big fingers and those buttons are so
tiny. On top of that I don’t have a clue how to send one of those text
messages.” Shakia dropped her arms to her side. “That’s the same thing you said
about e-mail a few years ago. Just try it for a month or two, okay?” You’re a
detective, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

After lunch Steele headed back to the club. When he reached over to
unlock his car door he noticed a woman in a parked sports car staring at him
from across the street. Steele was an attractive man who had always kept his
vanity in check. He had grown accustomed to the flirtatious looks given to him
by the ladies but this was different. This face looked very familiar. When he
crossed the street to get a closer look the woman smiled and sped off. On his
drive back to the club Steele got his first cell phone call. “Is this Paul’s
Pizza Parlor?” the voice on the other end of the line asked. “No.” Steele
answered then hung up on the caller. He parked his midnight blue Jag in the
back garage adjacent to the club. Business had been good every since Steele
first opened Club Inner Sanctum a few years ago and on this late afternoon a
couple of regulars had already started trickling in. Sugar Bear spotted Steele
and called him over to the bar. “Hey, boss. Stan’s down stairs in the lounge,
says he found something and for you to come see him pronto.”

Stan didn’t fit the stereotype of the average computer geek. He stood a
tad over Steele’s six foot frame and always dressed in the latest styles. Sporting
a charcoal Armani suit with a deep blue opened collared shirt Stan saw Steele
coming down the stairs and got up to greet him. “What’s happen brother?” he
slapped Steele five and spun the laptop around on the table in Steele’s
direction. “Check it out man.” Stan pointed to the monitor. “You are not gonna
believe this, dog.” What Stan uncovered was a detailed description of the
Canadian blackout. “Okay,” Steele shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the big deal?
Everybody knows about the blackout, it’s been all over the Internet, the TV
news and the papers.” “Naw man.” Stan’s baritone voice grew louder. “Check out
the date. Steele looked more closely this time. December 21, 2010. Stan and Sugar Bear could
hear Steele swearing under his breath. “Son of a bitch, this file was made
three months before the blackout.” Steele stroked his mustache. “Sugar Bear,
call my…” Sugar Bear had anticipated Steele’s next move. He cut Steele off in
mid sentence. “Call your cousin, Johnny.” “I already did.” He looked at his
watch. “He should be here…” “Hold up.” A few seconds later Johnny came
lumbering down the stairs. He was breathing heavy and had trouble trying to
catch his breath. By the time Johnny reached the last step beads of sweet were
starting to form on his forehead. Stan grinned at the obese man. “Damn homie,
don’t they have a gym at your youth center?” “Alright, alright,” Steele waved his
hands. “Cut the crap.”

The guys filled Johnny in on what they knew so far. Steele had Tina
bring drinks down as the men continued talking. Everyone knew that Johnny and
Stan disagreed a lot and today was no different. Stan wanted Johnny to go
straight to the police but Jonny wasn’t having it. “Well, cuz your boy has got
to take this to the cop’s. The guy who lost this thing is still hanging around
after the blackout. That means this ain't over. Who knows what they may be up
to or just how bad this could get?” His jowls wobbled when Johnny shook his
head. “No cops. I already talked to him. Young blood got a record. He don’t
trust Philadelphia’s
finest.” Steele tried another approach. “John, this is a new world. After 9/11
those dudes in Washington
have come up with all kinds of new international bull crap. Think of what will
happen if they pick him up first.” Johnny shook his head again. “Alex, don’t
you see that just makes it worse. You guys don’t understand - the boy is
nervous. He’ll only talk to you.”

Steele took a sip of Pepsi and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, fine,
bring him by tomorrow when he gets out of school. Make sure you take him
through the back entrance. Stan, make a copy of the files and let me know the
second you get any more of them open. Sugar Bear make sure Johnny gets the
check for the center. Thanks for coming guys. I gotta go upstairs, I have a
club to run.”

Dozens of snow plows worked through the night clearing the three inches
of fresh snow and by the next day the roads weren’t the only thing that was
clear, Steele’s jet lag was gone as well. Johnny was a man of his word. Shortly
after three he and the teen-aged boy were sitting in Steele’s back booth. Calvin
wore blue jeans and black jacket. He was a skinny dark skinned kid who looked
to be about fifteen. He seemed nervous and kept looking around as Johnny
directed him to the booth.

Steele apologized for the mess. He had been reading old newspapers
trying to catch up on what had been going on while he was away. “Let me get
some of this crap out of the way.” Steele stopped to shake the young man’s
hand. “It’s Nice to meet you Calvin. I have a couple of questions for you. So
this Asian guy, what did he look like?” “Hang on a minute, Steele paused. I
just got back in town and I’ve been working and reading old papers all
morning.” “Sugar Bear! Come take this stuff! Sorry Calvin, go ahead.” “Well,
Mr. Steele, it happened so fast.” Sugar Bear walked over and reached for the
papers on the table when Calvin’s eyes suddenly grew wider. He slammed the palm
of his hand on top of the stack that Sugar Bear was about to pick up. “That’s
him!” he yelled pointing to the picture in the morning paper. “That’s the dude
from the train. “ Steele picked up the paper and took a good look at the man in
the photo before handing it to Calvin. “Take another look Calvin. This is very
important. Are you sure this is the same guy you saw in the subway?” The teen
shook his head. “I’m positive Mr. Steele.” “Well,” Sugar Bear hunched his
shoulder. “At least you know where he is now.”

Blackout is the first novel from the Alexander Steele series. The second novel The Missing Men will be released later this year.

1 comment:

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